Only days remain in the 2011-12 school year, but earlier this week Warsaw Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz gave a corporation progress report to the school board.
Hintz said the report focuses on progress the school system achieved this year.
The mission for WCS, which the board adopted in March, Hintz read is, “Our mission is to inspire and equip all students to continously acquire and apply knowledge and skills while pursuing their dreams and enriching the lives of others.”
He said he’s hearing a lot from staff that they like the “dream” aspect of the mission.
Along with approving the mission statement, Hintz said the board also approved the core values, strategic objectives, strategies and action plans to chart the future and provide a framework for making decisions.
Students accomplishments were celebrated throughout WCS and the community by newspapers and webpages, he said. Students and staff received a lot of recognition.
“For that, we are proud,” he said.
All building principals “declared that making (Adequate Yearly Progress) in all schools and in our system is non-negotiable,” and professional learning communities were implemented throughout the system. Hintz said WCS should know if they made AYP within the next week.
The corporation was awarded the largest Indiana Department of Education Innovation Award in Indiana to be used to develop and implement the Washington STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Academy. The award was more than $430,000.
Additionally, the school board Monday approved the teacher evaluation system, and WCS was selected as the OrthoWorx “Partner of the Year.”
Additional theme schools are being considered for 2013-14, Hintz said. “That will provide focus for students and choice for parents,” he said.
Since official count day in September, WCS has grown by about 175 students.
It adopted full-day kindergarten, a dance program and Mandarin Chinese into its curriculum, he said. The middle schools also added foreign languages, including Mandarin Chinese. WCS also has a culinary arts program, and is adding a strings program.
Hintz said Chief Accountability Officer Tom Kline has reported WCS’s AP, ACT, SAT, graduation and attendance numbers have improved. AP examinations are now required for all AP students.
Nearly 90 percent of all third-grade students passed IREAD-3, Hintz informed the board.
As for curriculum, Hintz reported WCS now has standards-based report cards for kindergarten to second grade, 14 new courses for 2012-13 and a co-teaching model for student teachers. Textbook adoption was successful, with an emphasis on technology more than ever before, he said.
Hintz reported WCS made contact with all branches of the Armed Forces. While none are taking applications right now for ROTC programs, Hintz said he believes it will happen at WCS when a program becomes available.
Under instructional support, Hintz reported 500 volunteers provided more than 90,000 hours of service.
WCS redistributed Title I funds from three to five schools to spread out the grant money. The corporation acquired 700 “Achieve 3000” licenses for both middle schools and the five Title I schools.
For student support services, one of the things Hintz mentioned was that Director of Support Services Deb Blatz was conducting an initial investigation to locate a preschool program at Claypool Elementary School.
As for technology, Hintz said, “It’s everywhere, it’s everywhere, it’s everywhere.”
WCS installed wireless networks this past year at Lincoln Elementary, Gateway Educational Center, Lakeview Middle School and the high school. It used Moodle to support the work of PLC collaborative teams, and introduced keyboarding to all students in kindergarten to sixth grade. The board also established new and revised data policies to support student learning, data collection and communication.
Claypool and Lincoln were provided iPads for additional learning tools. The position description for the coordinator of media services was revised to reflect the ever-changing access to information, Hintz said.
The school corporation created a new Facebook page to reflect its intention to communicate in a variety of ways.
“So please, as (technology director) Elaine (Bultemeier) would say, ‘Friend us!’” Hintz said.
Four hundred iPads will be purchased this summer for health, family and consumer sciences and agriculture.
In the category of finance and operations, Hintz said WCS successfully implemented an Early Retirement Incentive Program for the third consecutive year. A new transportation building addition has started, and the Food Services Department was relocated to Lakeview.
A salary and wages study was conducted with a preliminary recommendation to be given to the board in June for approval. It was discussed at the board’s public work session May 15.
Two residential properties were purchased and removed to help make school campuses more “functional and ascetically appealing,” Hintz said.
“I guess I can declare, after being here for the past three years, we are no longer a system of schools, we are a school system,” Hintz said.
He then mentioned three things each school in the corporation achieved over the past year.
After Hintz concluded, board member Delores Hearn applauded all the work the teachers and administrators accomplished.
Dan Metzger, board secretary, said it was an “ambitious” year.
“I can’t believe how much has been accomplished by you, all the teachers and staff. You’re a great leader,” he said.
